Please tell me if anything is off... like I said, I've been doing tons of editing (it was in third person originally). Hahaha, that cliffhanger was so fun!

~~~

Chapter 3

There were four of them. The dragons landed with a thump, forming a tight circle around the students. Sapphire, gold, green, and purple scales flashed in the sun. The students screamed, and some tried to escape. Those that did were gently pushed back by the gold dragon’s slender tail.

“We’re not here to hurt you,” the sapphire dragon shouted. “We only need one human!”

“Go away!” shouted Kelsey from her position behind me.

“They said they wouldn’t hurt us,” I shouted, over the screams of frightened students.

Kelsey frowned. “All I heard was a rumbling, like rocks or something.”

Now it was my time to frown. “No, he clearly said that they weren’t here to hurt us. He only wants one of us.”

“He?” asked Kelsey incredulously. “Zoey, did you hit your head or something?”

The sapphire dragon’s head, which had been exploring the other students, whipped around to face her.

“You can understand us?” he asked, leaning down to be at eye level-- or rather, to have an eye the size of my entire head peer at me. Kelsey gave a little squeak and tucked herself even more securely behind me.

“You- you heard me?” I stammered, nervous to be inspected by such a large creature.

The sapphire dragon looked proud. “Never underestimate a dragon. We have super sensitive hearing.” Then he frowned. “But that’s beside the point. Can. You. Hear. Us?”

“Yes,” I said, stammering in the face of such a large-- and pointy!-- creature. “I can.”

The sapphire dragon turned back to its comrades and muttered quietly for a moment. Then he roared, so loudly that it silenced even the loudest panickers. Everyone looked at him in fear.

The sapphire dragon touched his throat and said, in the same gravely voice, “We need one of you. One of you must come back with us to our home.” He sounded the same as ever to me, but everyone else was touching their ears and heads in confusion.

“How can we hear him?” Kelsey hissed to me. I shrugged.

“Come on, one of you step forward, or we’ll choose one of you ourselves,” the sapphire dragon said, eyeing the crowd, which was receding from him. The gold dragon to the sapphire dragon’s left reached forward and swept the farthest back forward. They stumbled, only recovering when they grabbed their neighbors. Still no one stepped forward.

The sapphire dragon sighed. “Alright,” he said in a resigned voice, “I’ll just have to choose one of you myself.”

His long neck came forward and scanned the crowd. His sapphire foreleg came after and snatched up a squirming human. The crowd gasped as a struggling, shouting figure was lifted out and set at the sapphire dragon’s feet. The dragon kept a tight hold on the figure that, as I leaned forward, was revealed to be Justin.

“We’ll take this human,” the dragon said, “unless someone else wants to take its place.”

Before I knew what I was doing, I had pushed my way through the frightened crowd and said, “I’ll do it.”

The dragon’s head whipped around to face me.

“You?” he asked, surprised. “You would really give up life as you know it for this puny human?”

I hesitated. Was she really about to do this? Give up my life for a guy I just met that morning?

“I will,” I said firmly.

“Very well,” the sapphire dragon said, and released Justin. He tumbled to the ground and stayed there a second, moaning. Then, overcoming the shock and pain, he stood up.

He looked like he was going to say something, then stopped as Shaina ran out of the crowd.

“Oh, Justin-boo! You were so brave!” she cooed, taking ahold of his arm and staring up at him with sugary-sweet eyes. “I was so worried about you!”

He frowned. “Obviously not worried enough to save me,” he retorted, and turned to me.

“Why?” he asked, spreading his arms out in confusion. “Why would you do this for me?”

I shrugged. “I feel bad about this morning, I guess.”

“We must go,” the sapphire dragon interrupted. He held out a foreclaw to me. I gulped. Didn’t dragons usually

maidens? My already pale face paled further at the thought, but I still stepped forward to clamber onto the dragon’s foreclaw.

“Wait!” Justin cried, and shook his arm free of Shaina’s grip. He ran forward and placed himself between me and the dragon, holding out his arms to be a bigger shield.

“I can’t let you,” he said, staring at me. “I can’t let you do this for me.”

“Yeah!” said another voice from the crowd, and Kelsey pushed her way forward to join hands with him.

“Zoey, don’t do this,” she pleaded. “Please. Don’t do this to yourself.”

I shrugged again. “Why shouldn’t I? It’s not like anyone would miss me here.” Internally, I flinched at the truth stated so matter-of-factly. But I knew it was true. I had made no friends from my time at Northbrook Academy, and Justin was well liked and respected. I kept a cool, calm expression on my face to disguise the terror I felt inside.

Justin hesitated. Kelsey looked down at her feet.

“Tell me,” I said, sweeping an arm out at the crowd, “is there one person, even one, who would care if I left?”
Justin opened his mouth, then closed it. Kelsey studied her shoes even more intently, but then looked up at me. “I would,” she said in a small voice.

The dragon snorted to get our attention.

“We really must be going now,” he said gently, aware that he was breaking an awkward moment. He held out his foreclaw again.
“Goodbye,” I said, addressing both Kelsey and Justin. Kelsey hesitated a second more, then impulsively hugged me. I stiffened. I can’t remember a time when I’ve been hugged before.

“Bye,” Kelsey said, her voice barely a whisper. Then she stepped back into the crowd.

I turned to face Justin, who still had his arms out as a sort of shield.

“Let me go,” I said gently. “There’s nothing for me here.”

“But…” he started unhappily, then stopped.

“It’s ok,” I said, and put my hands on his shoulders. I moved him aside, and stepped past him to climb onto the dragon’s proffered foreclaw. He stopped me in my tracks by placing his hands on mine.

“Please,” he said again.

I shook her head. “I can’t stay,” I said. “Besides, there’s no one better than me to go.”

He hesitated, then nodded slowly.

“Remember me,” he said. The he took his hands and stepped away, one slow step at a time, into the crowd.

He was immediately accosted by Shaina and her followers, but his soulful brown eyes remained fixed on my icy blue ones. He didn’t break the contact, even when I looked away and climbed onto the sapphire dragon.

Even when, with a mighty roar, the dragon took off and the other dragons followed close behind.

Even when the last tip of the dragon’s tail disappeared in the billowing clouds.

Even when the other students were shepherded inside by nervously glancing teachers.

He never stopped looking.

✧✧✧

I studied the dragons as they flew high up in the clouds. The gold one was long and gracefully slender, and had hints of pink like a sunrise on its wings and tail. All along its back and snout were darker gold stripes. The green-brown dragon didn’t speak much. It was burly and short, but its small frame was packed with muscles. Its flared nostrils were on the top of his snout. The pale purplish-grey dragon was also burly and small, but in a more wiry way, and wasn’t as muscle packed. It was thin, and its scales flashed dully in the sunlight. It looked as if it hadn’t had a good meal in a while. A long scar ran down its thin face.

That left the sapphire dragon, the obvious leader of the group. It hadn’t said it was, but I found it evident from the way the others looked to it for advice and orders.  Its bright blue scales flashed in the sun as they flew, and though his large, sharp claws were capable of shredding me into ribbons, they held me gently. I could see its straight horns and sharp spines through a gap in its claws.

Later, lulled by the rocking of the sapphire dragon’s claws, and warmed by the afternoon sun, I fell asleep.

When I awoke, the dragons had stopped for the night. They were gathered around a flickering green fire, and I was resting on ice and snow. As soon as I saw that the sapphire dragon was looking at me, I shut my eyes and pretended to be asleep.

“No need to pretend, human female,” said the sapphire dragon in its gravelly voice, “I saw you looking around earlier.”

“Oh,” I said, sitting up and rubbing my head. “Where am I?”

The purplish dragon snorted. “Classic human. Always thinking of themselves first.”

“Chaparral…” the gold dragon said reproachfully. “She’s our guest.”

Chaparral grumbled but nonetheless fell silent.

“To answer your question, human female,” the sapphire dragon continued, as if nothing had happened, “You are somewhere near the peak of what your species calls Mount Everest.”

I shivered. Mount Everest? I suppose it could be true. The land around us was indeed icy and gray. It was a barren wasteland, with nothing for ice and rock for miles and miles. The only thing keeping the bitter cold away was the strange green fire that the dragons had made. I shivered and moved a little closer to it.

“Who are you?” I asked. “Why have you taken me?”

The sapphire dragon considered my questions.

“To answer your first question, my name is Stratus of SkyFire. My companions are Morrowmist of PrairieFire,”-- the gold dragon bowed her slender head-- “Chaparral of MountainFire,”-- the purplish dragon scowled deeper-- “and here comes Catfish of SwampFire, right on time for dinner.”

I looked where Stratus was pointing and saw the green-brown dragon from before flying towards them. His forearms were carrying a net filled with a few hares, a fox, and three caribou.

Catfish landed with a thump that shook the ground. The bracken and moss that had been supporting the flickering green fire shifted, and the fire went out. I was suddenly aware of the penetrating cold and damp.

There was a light padding noise, and I gathered my thin jacket a little closer to myself. There it was again! This time, it was to her left. She listened hard and heard it-- whatever it was-- circling the camp, coming closer and closer to the camp with every menacing circle.

And closer to me.

I gulped and wished for the solid presence of a dragon. As if they heard her thoughts, one of the dragons moved a little closer to me and gently wrapped an iron-scaled tail around my body, from my toes to my chest. The tip flicked over my mouth, and I winced as the sharp point made a small cut above my lips.

It was a rumbling voice, like Stratus’ had been when he spoke to me. But is was softer, and more feminine sounding. I assumed it must be Morrowmist’s voice, but seemingly inside my head. The ground hadn’t rumbled like it did when the dragons spoke, and the circling predator didn’t seem to notice it at all.

I thought, trying to project my thoughts into Morrowmist’s head.

I thought, doing my best to stay still and think normally.

That made me quiet.

I could hear the polar bear sniffing around the ashes of the campfire, searching for the warm flesh it knew was there. It was probably wondering where it had gone, and what that strange rasping noise was.

The polar bear never stood a chance. There was a growl from one of the dragons, a yelp from the polar bear, and silence.

Suddenly, the tundra was illuminated by a burst of green flame from Catfish, the dragon who had been out hunting. I gasped in delight as the flickering warmth soaked into my frigid bones. Then, all too soon, it was gone, but not before I could see the polar bear, splayed out on the ground with a neat cut across its throat.

I shuddered, and immediately wished I hadn’t, as it turned into shivers that wracked my whole body. I cried out involuntarily as one of the shivers made my injured shoulder twitch.

Stratus and Catfish had been quietly talking, but as they heard me cry out, they stopped.

“I am sorry,” Stratus said immediately. “We have been inconsiderate. Your fragile human body cannot withstand the cold like we can, and you require heat. Catfish-- restart the fire, please.”

Catfish tried, without success, to restart the flickering green fire that had so surprised me.

He shook his head. “Not possible, Stratus,” he said, and I started at his voice. It was even deeper that Stratus’s, though he was smaller. “The polar bear ravaged the bracken. There’s only shreds left.”

Stratus considered his words, then turned his huge head to inspect me.

“It will have to stay by me,” he decided. “None of you are capable of warming it.”

I bristled at being talked about as if I were not there, and as being referred to as “it”.

“Zoey,” I said. “My name is Zoey.”

Chaparral barked a short laugh. “It has a name?”

Stratus seemed not to have heard.

“All right, human female,” he said, “Your name shall be Zoey.” Then he tapped my head with his tail, as if he was bestowing the name upon me.

“Thank you,” I said, and, amazed by my own boldness, I stepped forward and placed a gentle hand on Stratus’s snout. He snorted, but seemed pleased anyway.

Later that night, as I was licking the last droplets of snow hare grease off of my fingers and leaning against the warm bulk of Stratus, I said, “Stratus, can I ask you something? I don’t want to be rude…”

He lifted his lips in an approximation of a human smile, in that slightly scary way dragons have of showing lots of sharp, dangerous teeth. “Ask away!”

“Well,” I said hesitatingly, “When Morrowmist was protecting me from the polar bear earlier, she wrapped her tail around me. But it wasn’t nearly as warm as yours is.” I gestured to the long coils of tail stretching behind his body. “Is that normal?”

He laughed, a sound like a rockfall accompanied by great vibrations that rattled my back teeth.

“Remember, when I told you my name a few hours ago, I said ‘Stratus of SkyFire’?”

“Yes,” I said, nodding. “And you said ‘Morrowmist of PrairieFire’, if I recall that right.”

“Yes,” Stratus said. “I did. I’m from Blaze SkyFire. Morrowmist is from Blaze PrairieFire. Our Blazes are like your families. You see, long ago, we were all one species. We all lived where I do now, in the clouds and the breathtaking open sky. Then, competition to find food and shelter rose, and dragons moved to other places. Some to the swamps,”-- he indicated Catfish-- “some to the mountains,”-- he indicated Chaparral-- “and some to the prairie, like Morrowmist. Those are just a few of the places we went. But we all adapted to our chosen environments. Those of Blaze PrairieFire adapted camouflaging stripes and coloring, and lost the extreme body heat needed to survive in the clouds.”

“Plus, we would have set the prairie on fire if we’d kept it,” added Morrowmist.

Stratus continued. “Those, like Catfish, who went to the swamp, adapted rough bodies to look like logs and drooping spines that appear to be moss. They also lost the extreme body heat, because they had no need for it. And those like Chaparral, who went to the mountains, lost their body heat to remain undetectable by prey that had adapted to see heat signs. They grew wiry and small to fit into the smallest crevices, and to need less food.”

I nodded slowly. Now that I looked, I could see the differences that Stratus had pointed out. Before, I had seen the color differences. Now, she saw how each dragon was unique: Morrowmist’s lean body and wavy stripes, Chaparral’s stout but small frame and wiry muscles, and Catfish’s rough, uneven scales and mossy spines.

“I get it now,” I said thoughtfully. “Where else did the dragons go?”

Stratus laughed. “I can see that you have an inquisitive mind.”

I  was instantly contrite. “I’m sorry; did I ask too much? I’ve just never met a dragon before.”

Stratus shook his head. “No, it’s fine. Once, you would have walked among us, but now…” He lapsed into silence.

“What happened?” I asked, my curiosity now aroused.

Stratus sighed. “The Three happened.”

“The Three?” I asked, instinctively lowering her voice. “Who are the Three?”

“More like

,” Chaparral muttered.

Stratus sighed again, but continued, “The Three lived long, long ago, after the dragons split. They were a human, a dragon, and an Astrera. The human’s name was Fane Zul, or MoonFall. He was a low-born miller’s son who married a princess. All was well, until he desired more power and killed the king. He then took over and plunged the kingdom into darkness and despair. The dragon was Kragan. He was of Blaze SkyFire. He believed that the dragons should never have split from his Blaze, and allied himself with the other two to take over and force us into submission. He only managed to take over Blaze SnakeFire, and they haven’t been the same since.”

I frowned. “That was only two. You said they were called the Three. Who was the last one?”

“Eclipse,” Stratus said heavily. “The worst one. The Astrera. No one knew where she came from. She always wore this strange black armour that melded to her movements, and it was so hard that nothing could penetrate it, even a dragon’s claws. The only thing that was not encased in armour were her mane and tail, which glowed and waved like purple flames, and her eyes. Her eyes… oh, skies above, my great-something grandfather used to give me nightmares by telling me about her eyes. Instead of a normal eye, the white part was black, black as a NightFire at midnight. Just about as evil, too. The pupils were slits, and the color… or colors, I should say. One of them was a bright, manic green that glowed with an inner fire and could hypnotize you until you were no better than a field-mouse in a dragon’s claws. The other was red-violet, and terrifying as the Fire-Lord himself.”

I shuddered. His words had woven a picture in my mind, and I could almost see Eclipse, laughing maniacally as she surveyed the wreckage of the dragon’s home below her.

“What happened to her?” I asked, drawing my thin jacket a little tighter around me and staring into the blackness beyond our small camp.

“No one knows,” Stratus said in a low voice. “When she was surrounded by our armies, and her own was nowhere to be seen, she just… disappeared. Poof. Gone in a puff of black smoke.”

“Some say she’s still alive, and out there somewhere,” Catfish cut in. “For all we know, she’s out there right now, watching us, just waiting for a time to strike.”

Chaparral snorted. “As if. Puff of smoke? Watching us? I think someone’s been listening to too many ghost stories, Catfish.”

Catfish reddened, but persisted. “Well, you don’t know! She could be!”

Chaparral snorted again and turned away. He curled into a tight, spiky ball, and soon his sides were rising and falling rhythmically.

Morrowmist yawned, her long, slender tongue curling like a cat’s. “I think we’d all better turn in,” she said. “It’ll be a long day tomorrow.”

Stratus nodded. “G’night, everyone. Sweet first-fire dreams.”

Morrowmist and Catfish curled up with Stratus, their tails flopping over each other’s and their wings drooping everywhere. I found myself a crook in Stratus’s tail and curled up. Soon, I fell asleep.

~~~

Hope you enjoyed it!

~Starseeker 

Funny story... so, I like to geocache, and I recently placed one, and one of the people who found it- their username was justincase01!

This is really good, Star! I bet you could publish it. Even if you can't do publishers, you could do it on Amazon or something like that. I'd definitely buy it! I can't wait for the next chapter :)

Oh, and also it would be cool if you could make Zoey one of the Three. From a description of her, she fits the human.I don't mean she would be evil, more that the three would be different this time around. Or maybe Zoey etc. could be a different good version. There is three- Zoey Kelsey Justin.

If you don't want to that's fine though, I just thought it would be different from basic heroes vs villains. 

Oop I mixed up the hero prophecy and the three thing- I still think it would be cool though.

I wanted to make some predictions....WARNING: VERY LONG RANT INBOUND. (Don't worry, I will send ACTUAL FEEDBACK soon, XD)

Predictions--

1. The Prophecy--

AAAAHHHHH HECK YES. I mean...I'm a very calm organized CBer who has no reason to scream aloud. I'm putting the exact text here, so this might be a little wrong. The first two lines remind me strongly of the Dragonet prophecy. The first part of the last line reminds me of the prophecy demo I read for the sixth Wings of Fire book (which I, unfortunately, do not have. I've only read the first series, or, if you will, the first five books) 

I'm going to try to predict the prophecy here, so here goes. First, I'm going to guess that said three heroes are Zoey, Kelsey, and Justin. Second, I don't think Zoey's description has been placed in here? If so I read over it, or couldn't find it... But the first part of the prophecy seems to be about her. Or it would make sense to be about her, since she "Shall Come To You From Lands Out There". It says that mysterious woman was "Time Ago Banished Here", and if Zoey was found wandering the streets, it would make sense, as she doesn't seem to have a normal family, and also can understand the language of Dragons. So it seems that she doesn't belong in the Human world very well.

"A Pure Descendant Of Cloud" is what I don't exactly understand, and that obviously hasn't been introduced to us yet. Perhaps it could be a CloudFire...but "True, Honest, and Golden Browed" does not seem to be a dragon trait, because I don't think dragons have eyebrows (of course, it could just be an analogy, but I'm way too nitpicky for that) ....…Unless it's referring to the golden dragon (I'm horrible with names, help me out here). 

One that does not fit seems to be a prophetic character, with some sort of foresight. Perhaps the woman from the prologue... But there's a strong use of "he" there. Otherwise, it would almost make sense for Zoey to be that one of the three heroes. However, if this is referring to Kelsey, Zoey, and Justin, this would be Justin for sure ("he"). But Justin seems to fit in. However, this could refer to him not fitting into this other land we haven't been introduced to yet. ANYWAYS! I'll move on to the last line before you fall asleep. Well, you're already asleep. But still.

"An Evil Is Coming To Choke The Land" seems to refer to the evil Three. BUT SINCE THE EVIL THREE ARE NEVER MENTIONED IN THE PROPHECY, IT COULD BE A DIFFERENT EVIL AND STAR COULD BE PULLING ONE ON US! ❄long gasp❄ It could be an even different evil...

But I'm going to have to end this here because oh my Irene, this is long, did I write all of this? I copy+pasted the prophecy below, because it's really wonderfully written, hat's off to you Starseeker. .w.

❄runs off clutching speculation papers❄ 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Three Heroes Come To Repel The Night

Save Or Raze The Land They Will

Fate Shall Unfold On Night Of Quill

 

A Maiden Of The Raven Hair

Shall Come To You From Lands Out There

Time Ago Banished Here

Far Away Across The Mere

 

A Pure Descendant Of Cloud

True, Honest, and Golden Browed

Does Always Noble Endeavor

And Shall Be One Of Three Heroes Forever

 

One That Does Not Fit

One That Cannot Flit

Scorned By Those Who Cannot Foresee

He Will Be One Of Destined Three

 

An Evil Is Coming To Choke The Land

All Will Perish By Their Hand

Time Again Will Repeat

Unless The Evil Can Be Beat…